User blog:John Pan/F/A-57 Dauntless
HASF dug up X-44 MANTA research shortly after its formation, looking for a new air dominance fighter. Reduced RCS was their main priority- reduction of surfaces to reflect off of. No tail is better than stealth-treated tail, and with advanced computer-assisted vector thruster technology, the F/A-57 is no less nimble than the F-22C. The Platinum fighter. About as big as the MiG-47. HASF operated 600 in 2054. 1 AIRCRAFT Purpose The F/A-57 is designed to kill the enemy no matter where the enemy appears. Air-to-Air and Air-to-Surface is its two main missions. Capacity No carry-on units, although it can control other F/A-44 Ghosts. Sensors The F/A-57 has a main radar array in the nose, a multi-face X- and L-band AESA with ten times the transmit-receive modules of a previous fighter-borne radar, giving it unparalleled capabilities in detection of enemy fighters. Its smart skin also includes thermal cameras and a ten-point LADAR to make sure nothing comes in within 50 kilometers without being spotted. Electric generators are strapped to the aircraft's two engines to provide enough power for all of these electronics. Anti-Surface Weaponry AGM-2 Striker (16) The AGM-2 Striker is an air-to-ground weapon. It packs a GPS, Inertial guidance, Terminal IR guidance, all with an ECCM suite. It delivers a 100lb tandem shape charge warhead via a rocket-boosted ramjet, allowing it to hit Mach 4 while it streaks from 100km away. Last but not least, it has a Hardened steel cap that allows it to survive shots from just about any hardkill ECM. Inside its two rotary bays, the F/A-57 Dauntless carries up to 16 AGM-2 Strikers. AGM-3 Marauder (8) The AGM-3 is the next step in standoff precision strike bombs. It packs a 750lb Thermobaric-Thermite warhead inside of Hardened Steel case. It has a programmable fuse that allows it to blow up above the target, or blow up after it knocks a gaping hole in the target (normally, bunker). The whole thing is kept on-course with GPS guidance. The weapon uses a vector-thruster-equipped Dual-grain rocket motor to kick it past the sound barrier and up to 50 kilometers away from a 10,000 foot drop. The F/A-57 Dauntless carries up to eight in its two rotary bays. ALASM-1 Black Lightning(2) HASF's Planetary Navy needed its premier MOB-based fighter to pack a big punch when it came to dealing with enemy warships. Therefore, HASF miniaturized its HSSW-1 to be able to fit into the weapons bay of the Dauntless. The Advanced Air-Launched Anti-Ship Missile carries a vector-thruster-equipped SCRamjet, a good rocket booster to get up to Mach 4, an ECCM-assisted GPS kit with Terminal Radar homing, plus a Tungsten kill-cap and targeting software that allows for precision striking of the waterline of a vessel. This allows the weapon to tear a hole in an enemy ship 400 kilometers away at an incredible Mach 12. Anti-Aircraft Weaponry MAWS A7(1) To provide the Dauntless with a good cannon to fight a close range with, MAWS designed a 7mm-muzzle diameter coilgun that got a ferric-Tungsten slug up to Mach 5-repeatedly. The coilgun was able to get 120 2mm slugs out into the air in one minute, and reach a target 10 kilometers away. AAM-1 Hornet (6) The Hornet is a very accurate specific-IR band-seeking missile that is used by aircraft to engage other aircraft or even other missiles. It is a small 127mm-diameter missile that packs a 2lb shape-charge able to rip through 500mm of RHA, which makes it very effective against both heavily armored aircraft and thick-skinned missiles. Maximum range is 20 kilometers. The F/A-57 carries six in two separate three-missile pop-out pods. AAM-3 Reaper (16) It's named the Reaper for a reason. The AAM-3 is the deadliest air-to-air missile in the world. Packing a STAR-48-boosted SCRamjet motor, it carries just its own guidance system (consisting of an ECCM-assisted GPS and terminal guidance Radar) and a thick tungsten kill-cap to slice effortlessly through any airborne target. It can reach speeds of Mach 20(14000mph, 6200 meters per second) as it strikes an aircraft 300 kilometers away. The Dauntless can carry sixteen in its two rotary weapon bays. Upgrades Protection A-THEL To provide the Dauntless with firepower to take out incoming missiles without using its Hornets, the F/A-57 can be equipped with a tail-mounted retractable A-THEL to fry a missile out of the air at 1.5 kilometers. Clear skies are required. Protection Passive The F/A-57 is coated in a very thin layer of AKP. The armor consists of Supramolecular plastic, Ceramic plating, D-30 non-Newtonian foam woven into Kevlar layers, and Titanium. AKP provides armor protection from kinetic projectiles and can also help maintain aerodynamics and stealth after taking fire. It allows the F/A-57 to survive a single 35mm AP round. It is also designed to reduce its signature- Infrared and Radar included. With far fewer surfaces for radar to bounce off of, it is stealthier than the legendary B-29. Plus, it has liquid nitrogen cooling to cool off the aircraft's skin and engine exhaust to make it nearly impossible for heat seekers to lock on. It also has its own magnetic field to ward off cosmic rays when it gets really high up in the atmosphere. Active The F/A-57 has dedicated portions inside of its smart skin that allows it to have immense ECM and EW firepower. It is able of cracking an open-source missile self-destruct firewall within one minute, and can hack into any camera with internet access within one hundred kilometers, greatly increasing situation awareness. It even has a dedicated supercomputer to handle EW and ECM operations. It also has a multiband Radar jammer, which negates the vast majority of X- and L- band radar radiation headed its way. This provides it with the capability to counter radar detection. Locomotion The F/A-57 is powered by two SCIMITAR-IIs. The SCIMITAR engine acts as a regular turbofan up to Mach 1.5, when the Ramjet portion kicks in. In Ramjet mode, the SCIMITAR can push the aircraft to a blazing Mach 8. The Dauntless can hypercruise at Mach 6 at 160,000 feet, and can reach 8000 kilometers from its last refueling location. Category:Blog posts